Learning To Drive? Here is some useful information
Before learning to drive
Before learning to drive you need to make sure that you meet certain legal requirements.
You must have the following documents:
Ask your friends or members of your family who they learned with. Did they enjoy their lesson? If the same name keeps getting mentioned in a
positive manner, then that instructor has got to be top of your list! If you do not know anyone to ask (maybe new to an area then see below) If you are
not happy on your driving lessons, try another instructor. On occasions there can be personality clashes between an instructor and a pupil.
Questions to ask when enquiring about driving lessons
with problems they or their pupils may have with motoring law or the DSA.)
Be aware of cheap lessons
If lesson prices are too cheap be aware that you may end up paying more in the long term. A good instructor who takes pride in what they do will
generally charge a higher price. A poor instructor who is desperate for work will usually charge a cheap price that is well below average for the area.
Assuming you get private practice in between your lessons, the DSA recommend that with private practice, you should be looking to have 45 hours
with a professional instructor. Lets take an average price of between £19 to £22 then multiply that by 45 hours you will pay £855 to £990. If you go to
the cheap school, you could end up having a lot more lessons than you need, with an awful amount of time sat by the kerbside but not actually driving
and ending up taking up twice as many lessons. Also with cheaper lessons you could find you are learning in an older car or the instructor is not able
to afford to maintain their car properly.
Cowboy Instructors Beware
Driving instructors are registered by the DSA (Driving Standards Agency) and when giving instruction for money or gain , they must display a certificate
in the left hand side of the front windscreen. If the instructor is a trainee then the certificate will be pink and if the instructor is qualified then the
certificate will be green. If there is no badge at all in the bottom of the windscreen then the instructor is probably illegal and probably not insured.
Report them to the police at once.
Instructor gradings
ADIs are graded 1 through to 6, six is the best grade. A majority of instructors are grade 4, which means that they are competent. If an instructor is a
grade 3 or below the DSA will be taking action to remove them from the register if they do not improve their grade to 4 or above very quickly.
An instructor is graded by a supervising examiner who sits in on ONE lesson to see how they perform according to the DSA method of marking.
Everyone can have a bad day and either the instructor or the pupil gets nervous therefore the instructor perhaps gets a 4 but is capable of delivering
lessons worthy of a 5 or a 6.
There are many grade 4's that give wonderful training, make it fun for their clients and get lots of first time passes. There are also some grade 5 and 6
instructors who lack people skills and who's lessons can be very dull.
Structured training and the driving syllabus
The Driving Standards Agency states "Those who pass their driving test have had, on average, about 45 hours of professional training combined with
22 hours of private practice. Learners who prepare this way, with a combination of plenty of professional training and plenty of practice, do better in the
test." From my experience this statement is very true. As humans, we do however learn at different paces, therefore some people may only need a
handful of lessons whilst others may take a year or more.
If you have not driven before, don't worry. A good instructor's lessons should be structured and will work at your speed. You should not be thrown into
traffic nor should you be held back. The main areas covered are all on the official Driving Standards Agency syllabus and should include:
You should not just be taught how to pass the driving test but you should be trained to deal with today’s road and traffic conditions in a safe and
confident manner on a mixture of roads.
Previous driving experience
If you have previous driving experience then your driving should be assessed to see where you need help to develop your driving.
Why 2 hour driving lessons are better than 1 hour
To really get the most out of your driving lessons, you are better off if you can afford it, having 2 hour lessons at a time.
If you take 2 one hour lessons per week you will only get 60 minutes of LEARNING TIME compared with 90 minutes if you have 1 two hour lesson.
Driving tests
Theory and hazard perception test
The theory test is made up of two parts; the multiple choice part and the hazard perception part. You need to pass both parts to pass the theory test.
Once you have passed the theory test you can then apply to take your practical driving test.
For further details about the theory test please Click here
Practical driving test
Your driving test will start with an eyesight check and some vehicle safety questions. You will then start your practical driving test which will include
some specific manoeuvres. The driving part of your test will last about 40 minutes. Throughout the test your examiner will be looking for an overall
safe standard of driving, including when you are carrying out the set exercises. You can make up to 15 driving faults and still pass the test (16 or more
results in failure). However, if you commit one serious or dangerous fault you will fail the test.
For more information about the practical car test Click here
To pass
In order to pass the theory and hazard perception test you just need to study the Highway code and "Driving- The essential skills" Also it would be a
good idea and if you have access to a computer to practice the hazard perception test. There are a number of CD roms available in the high street
shops.
To pass the practical driving test just listen to your driving instructor, keep up regular lessons, take advice from your driving instructor as to how many
lessons you need and when to apply for your test. Practice in between driving lessons if possible.
Hopefully you will be driving in a systematic style and able to perform naturally. On the day drive as though you are on a normal driving lesson.
Before learning to drive
Before learning to drive you need to make sure that you meet certain legal requirements.
You must have the following documents:
- Driving Licence.
- Insurance.
- MOT (If car is older than 3 years)
- Vehicle Registration Document.
- Vehicle Excise Duty.
- Learner drivers
- Learners driving a car must hold a valid provisional licence and must be supervised by someone who holds a full EC/EEA and has held it for
at least three years for the type of car (automatic or manual) Also they must be at least 21 years old
- Vehicles.
- Any vehicle driven by a learner must display red L plates to the front and rear of the car which must conform to legal specifications. In Wales,
either red D plates, red L plates, or both, can be used. When not being driven by a learner (except on driving school vehicles) L plates should
be removed or covered. Before driving unaccompanied, you must pass the theory test (if one is required) and then the practical driving test for
the category of vehicle you wish to drive.
- Fitness to Drive
- If you have any health condition that is likely to affect your driving, you must report it to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). If taking
medication, check the instructions or ask your doctor or pharmacist. You must not drive under the influence of drugs or medicine. Using illegal
drugs is highly dangerous so never take them before driving as the effects are unpredictable and can be even more severe than alcohol and
may result in fatal or serious road crashes.
- Eye sight
- You must be able to read a vehicle number plate from a distance of 20.5 metres (67 feet - about five car lengths) in good daylight and for a new
style number plate from a distance of 20 metres (66 feet). If you need to wear glasses (or contact lenses) to do this, you must wear them at all
times whilst driving. The police have the power to require a driver, at any time, to undertake an eyesight test in good daylight.
- Drinking alcohol
- will seriously affect your judgement and abilities to drive a motor vehicle. You must not drive with a breath alcohol level higher than 35 µg
/100ml or a blood alcohol level of more than 80 mg/100 ml. Alcohol takes time to leave your body; therefore you may be unfit to drive in the
evening after drinking at lunchtime, or in the morning after drinking the previous evening. If you are going to drink, arrange another means of
transport.
For further information please or advice please Click here
Ask your friends or members of your family who they learned with. Did they enjoy their lesson? If the same name keeps getting mentioned in a
positive manner, then that instructor has got to be top of your list! If you do not know anyone to ask (maybe new to an area then see below) If you are
not happy on your driving lessons, try another instructor. On occasions there can be personality clashes between an instructor and a pupil.
Questions to ask when enquiring about driving lessons
- Is the instructor a fully-qualified Approved Driver Instructor (ADI)?
- What other qualifications does the instructor have?
- Does the instructor follow a syllabus?
- Do you belong to a professional body?
with problems they or their pupils may have with motoring law or the DSA.)
- Does the instructor provide you a log book to record your progress?
- Do you belong to any road safety bodies?
- What is the instructor's pass rate for learners sitting the practical test for the first time?
- What grade is the instructor?
- How long has the instructor been teaching learner drivers?
- Can you have a free or reduced-price initial lesson to see how you get on with the instructor?
- How long, and how much, are lessons?
- What discounts are available?
- What happens if you need to cancel a driving lesson?
- If you plan to drive cars only with an automatic gearbox, can the instructor provide a suitable tuition vehicle?
- What make/model of car is used as the tuition vehicle?
- Does the tuition vehicle have dual controls?
- How old is the tuition vehicle?
- Can the driver's seat and steering column of the tuition vehicle be adjusted to suit your height and build?
- Will you get any extras, such as software or study aids to help prepare for the theory test?
- Will the instructor pick you up and drop you off at your home address, or other location that is convenient to you?
- Will the instructor be giving you one to one training, or will you be expected to either pick up the next pupil or drop off the previous one during
the time allocated to your lesson? - Does the instructor smoke in the tuition vehicle?
- Does the instructor speak in a clear and easily understandable way?
Be aware of cheap lessons
If lesson prices are too cheap be aware that you may end up paying more in the long term. A good instructor who takes pride in what they do will
generally charge a higher price. A poor instructor who is desperate for work will usually charge a cheap price that is well below average for the area.
Assuming you get private practice in between your lessons, the DSA recommend that with private practice, you should be looking to have 45 hours
with a professional instructor. Lets take an average price of between £19 to £22 then multiply that by 45 hours you will pay £855 to £990. If you go to
the cheap school, you could end up having a lot more lessons than you need, with an awful amount of time sat by the kerbside but not actually driving
and ending up taking up twice as many lessons. Also with cheaper lessons you could find you are learning in an older car or the instructor is not able
to afford to maintain their car properly.
Cowboy Instructors Beware
Driving instructors are registered by the DSA (Driving Standards Agency) and when giving instruction for money or gain , they must display a certificate
in the left hand side of the front windscreen. If the instructor is a trainee then the certificate will be pink and if the instructor is qualified then the
certificate will be green. If there is no badge at all in the bottom of the windscreen then the instructor is probably illegal and probably not insured.
Report them to the police at once.
Instructor gradings
ADIs are graded 1 through to 6, six is the best grade. A majority of instructors are grade 4, which means that they are competent. If an instructor is a
grade 3 or below the DSA will be taking action to remove them from the register if they do not improve their grade to 4 or above very quickly.
An instructor is graded by a supervising examiner who sits in on ONE lesson to see how they perform according to the DSA method of marking.
Everyone can have a bad day and either the instructor or the pupil gets nervous therefore the instructor perhaps gets a 4 but is capable of delivering
lessons worthy of a 5 or a 6.
There are many grade 4's that give wonderful training, make it fun for their clients and get lots of first time passes. There are also some grade 5 and 6
instructors who lack people skills and who's lessons can be very dull.
Structured training and the driving syllabus
The Driving Standards Agency states "Those who pass their driving test have had, on average, about 45 hours of professional training combined with
22 hours of private practice. Learners who prepare this way, with a combination of plenty of professional training and plenty of practice, do better in the
test." From my experience this statement is very true. As humans, we do however learn at different paces, therefore some people may only need a
handful of lessons whilst others may take a year or more.
If you have not driven before, don't worry. A good instructor's lessons should be structured and will work at your speed. You should not be thrown into
traffic nor should you be held back. The main areas covered are all on the official Driving Standards Agency syllabus and should include:
- Cockpit checks
- Safety checks
- Controls and instruments
- Moving away and stopping
- Safe positioning
- Mirrors - Vision and use
- Signals
- Anticipation and planning
- Use of speed
- Other traffic
- Junctions
- Roundabouts
- Pedestrian crossings
- Dual carriageways
- Rural roads
- Turning the vehicle around in the road
- Reversing
- Parking
- Emergency stop and ABS
- Driving at night
- Weather conditions
- Dealing with level crossings
You should not just be taught how to pass the driving test but you should be trained to deal with today’s road and traffic conditions in a safe and
confident manner on a mixture of roads.
Previous driving experience
If you have previous driving experience then your driving should be assessed to see where you need help to develop your driving.
Why 2 hour driving lessons are better than 1 hour
To really get the most out of your driving lessons, you are better off if you can afford it, having 2 hour lessons at a time.
- Two Hour lessons are more efficient than one hour lessons.
If you look at the average lesson structure, it will be split in the following way.
(Times are in minutes and are a guide only)
- Recap and objective 5
- Drive to training location 5
- Briefing and main points 10
- Drive home 5
- Summery 5
- In a one hour driving lesson this leaves only 30 minutes of practice (LEARNING TIME)
In a two hour lesson though you will get 90 minutes of practice (LEARNING TIME)
This is THREE times the amount of time compared to that of a one hour lesson
If you take 2 one hour lessons per week you will only get 60 minutes of LEARNING TIME compared with 90 minutes if you have 1 two hour lesson.
Driving tests
Theory and hazard perception test
The theory test is made up of two parts; the multiple choice part and the hazard perception part. You need to pass both parts to pass the theory test.
Once you have passed the theory test you can then apply to take your practical driving test.
For further details about the theory test please Click here
Practical driving test
Your driving test will start with an eyesight check and some vehicle safety questions. You will then start your practical driving test which will include
some specific manoeuvres. The driving part of your test will last about 40 minutes. Throughout the test your examiner will be looking for an overall
safe standard of driving, including when you are carrying out the set exercises. You can make up to 15 driving faults and still pass the test (16 or more
results in failure). However, if you commit one serious or dangerous fault you will fail the test.
For more information about the practical car test Click here
To pass
In order to pass the theory and hazard perception test you just need to study the Highway code and "Driving- The essential skills" Also it would be a
good idea and if you have access to a computer to practice the hazard perception test. There are a number of CD roms available in the high street
shops.
To pass the practical driving test just listen to your driving instructor, keep up regular lessons, take advice from your driving instructor as to how many
lessons you need and when to apply for your test. Practice in between driving lessons if possible.
Hopefully you will be driving in a systematic style and able to perform naturally. On the day drive as though you are on a normal driving lesson.
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